Commissioners execute contract with Sebewaing for lagoon system improvement

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, November 10, 2010

By TRACI L. WEISENBACH

Tribune Staff Writer

HURON COUNTY — The Village of Sebewaing is applying for a $1.46 million loan to expand its existing lagoon system, and with the help of the county, the village is able to get a low-interest loan.

During Tuesday’s Huron County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board approved a resolution to execute a contract between the county and the village for the lagoon system improvements. Huron County Treasurer Sherry Learman said the county has submitted paperwork for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan, and because the county has an A+ bond rating with Standard and Poor’s, it is able to get an interest rate of 2.25 percent.

According to Sebewaing officials, there will be a fifth lagoon added to the system, which will add 14 million gallons of storage capacity. The project began this week and is expected to be completed June 1. Kemp Tiling Co., Inc., of Sebewaing, is handling the project.

Village officials said Kemp Tiling’s bid on the project came in at $1.07 million and the village had expected the project to cost about $1.8 million. The village pledged $400,000 for the project.

The lagoons are located between the village and the Unionville-Sebewaing Area High School.

The improvement project has been in the works for several years, village officials said. The last lagoon expansion took place in 1980.

Also during Tuesday’s commissioner meeting, Commissioner Steve Vaughan said the $235,000 Community Development Block Grant for the addition to the health department building is getting very close to being routed to the county. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is finishing up some legal work before the grant is sent. Vaughan said he hopes the grant will come soon, because the county cannot start the bid process on the construction until the county receives the money. The addition to the health department building will house the clinical staff, which now is temporarily located in Dr. Douglas Pankratz’s office. The staff relocated because of the Veterans Administration (VA) outpatient clinic, which uses a portion of the health department building.

Vaughan also announced the kitchen renovations at the new Senior Center are moving forward, but a variance is needed from the City of Bad Axe for the project. He said a meeting with city officials is scheduled for later this month and he doesn’t expect there to be any issues getting the variance.